Panthers do the right thing and suspend Steve Smith
The Pro Bowl receiver will miss the team's first two games after the Panthers issued a suspension in the wake of his fight with cornerback Ken Lucas.
The Panthers could have sat Smith up to four games, but two games - or one-eighth of the entire season - is a fair punishment for a stupid act by the belligerent receiver. Smith was previously suspended for hitting teammate Anthony Bright during a film session in 2002.
The suspension will cost Smith a little more than $200,000 in salary. He will be able to practice and play in the preseason, but will be prohibited from being around the team the first two weeks of the season.
(I'm pretty sure Panthers GM Marty Hurney and coach John Fox, who collaborated on the suspension, didn't read the Sunday column I filed a few hours ago. But they did exactly as I'd suggested when I wrote: In the wake of Panthers All Pro receiver Steve Smith slugging cornerback Ken Lucas in the face during practice Friday, the Panthers simply have to slap with a meaningful punishment. And that includes a suspension of at least two games.)
Ok, time to re-write the item.
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Comments (6)
FIRST OF ALL,ALL THESE PLAYERS ARE GIVEN TOO MUCH MONEY FOR PLAYING THE GAME OF FOOTBALL. LOWER ALL BONUS PAY, AND STOP SIGNING PLAYER FOR MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. IF THEY LOVE THE SPORT THEY WILL PLAY FOR ,AT THE MOST 100 THOUSAND A YEAR. THER EAIN'T A PLAYER OUT THERE THAT IS WORTH OVER A MILLION DOLLARS.
Don't pay players so much? Let the owners earn all the money? The players have gone on strike before when that happened and we got an inferior product.
It's supply and demand - Deal with it or stop watching.
Obviously doesn't realize that the sport of football literally cripples over 90% of the players for life. $100,000.00 a year? Not even close to enough. Maybe JBG should go out there every Sunday and give it his all while people his size are pounding him. Probably never played organized sports in his life...
If you notice, since Britney started wearing clothes and behaving; Paris is out of town not bothering anybody, thank god; and, evidently, Lindsay Lohan has gone gay, we don't seem to have much of an issue. Perhaps the same will be true for Smith.
Steve Smith is a problem child. Ken Lucas is, for the most part, a quiet former Seattle Seahawk. Though there is always room to jaw-jack and verbally competition you do not through down and assault someone on the field.
Do you remember Romanowski with the Raiders? He ended another Raiders career by breaking his nose and and eye bone. I am surprised Smith was not suspended for 3 or 4 games let alone a league fine. He needs some lessons on maturity. He's known to get fired-up and play lackluster when people get in his head.
And people wonder why Carolina sucks at football!